Fishing reel



'March 24, 1953 I E. E.-VINCENT v I 2,632,608;

FISHING REEL Filed July 21, 1949 2 SHEE-ITSSHEET 1 4 4 55 20 44 I. 12 r asl I 1N VEN TOR. 3 74 .EgwmE Wncen/I March 24, 1953 E. E. VINCENT 2,632,608

' FISHING REEL.

Filed July 21, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 10 fig. 9. Fig-10.

' 4. I INVENTOIIQ.

an .E'g' wmE Vince 77" Patented Mar. 24,1953

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 FISHING REEL Edwin E. Vincent, Springfield, Mass.

. Application July 21, 1949, Serial No. 105,939

6 Claims.

fishing line torun free from a normally stationary spool whenevera cast is made by the angler and, at the same time, provide a most efiicient means for engaging and winding the line back upon the spool upon the completion of the cast.

- A further objectof the present invention is to provide acasting reel of the so-called spinning type which, although most efficient in operation, is designed in a manner such that will make for inexpensive manufacture andmaintenance.

With the aboveand other objects in view, as willhereinafter appear, the invention comprises the.devices,-combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafterset forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several features of the invention and the advantages obtained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 represents a fishing rod having secured thereto a reel which incorporates therein the present invention.

' present housing member l2 has projecting axially therefrom, a hub portion [6 which is provided with an axial bore ll in which is force fitted abearing sleeve It] in which is mounted a shouldered shaft [9, the distal end portion of ,which has threaded thereon a crank member new ing the usualhandle piece 2| carried thereby. The other end of the shaft l9 extends into the hollow chamber 13 formed within thehousing l2 and upon this end of the shaft is rigidly mounted a bevel gear 22. Meshing with the. bevel gear 22 is a piniongear-23 whose shank 30. is rotatably mounted withina cylindrical bear-n ing member 24 which, in turn, is'snugly received tional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 represents, on a reduced scale, a sectional view taken substantially along line 4- 4 of Fig. 3. V

Fig. 5 represents, on an enlarged scale, a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4'. r

Fig. 6 represents, on a reduced scale, a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 represents a back face view of a disk and spring unit employed in the present reel.

Fig. 8 represents a sectional view taken substantially along the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 represents a front elevation view of a tension washer employed in the present reel.

Fig. 10 represents a sectional view taken substantially along the line l0--l0 of Fig. 9. r

. Fig. 11 represents a fragmentary view of the insideface of the flyer cup so as to illustrate the shape of its central aperture.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, the present invention comprises a mounting member Ii] from which projects a bracket member ll, upon one end portion of which is formed a substantially cup-shaped housing l2 havinga hollow chamber 13 formed therein. The present mounting member In is adapted within an aperture 25 formed within a peripheral side wall portion of the housing l3. may be best seen in Fig. 3, the bearing member 24 ex tends beyond the confines of the housing l2 and is provided with a circular shoulder 26 which s received within a recess of the housing. apertured disk 21 positioned upon the outside pore tion of the bearing member is secured by screws 28, 28 to'the housing which functions to retain the bearing member in its operative position.. In a preferred form of the presentinvention, the outside diameter of the gear 23 issmaller than the. inside diameter of the aperture. 251 and thus; the gear may be inserted into orremoved from the housing by way of thisaperture 25. -How ever, it should be understood that sincethe bear, ing member 24 has an appreciable 'wall thick-r, ness, the gear 23 could be shifted into] thejhouse ing for the purpose of removing the samefafter the sleeve. member 24 had been withdrawn'fromj the-aperture 23. A thrust washer 231511051? tioned between the pinion gear23 and the inside shoulder of the bearing member 24Lfo'r the purpose of facilitating the rotation of the gear relative to the stationary bearing member. As may be best seen in Fig. 3', the shank portion 30 of'the bevelgear 23 is provided with an axial bore 3i having therein apair of spaced bearing sleeves 32, 32 which slidingly support a reciprocal rod 33. j

Referring particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, itis apparent that the shank portion 30 of the .bevel gear 23 extends beyond the confinesof the housing I2 and, furthermore, the distal'endportion of the gear shank is threaded and formed with a slab section 34. Mounted upon the distal end of this gear shank is a cupped fiyer member 35 which is provided with a D-shapedaperture 36 (see Fig. 11), the shape of which is complementary to that of the shank end of thegear 23, so that the flyer will be keyed thereon. 7 Between the flyer and thebearing 24 is positioned a spring washer 31 and a hardened Washer '38, while at he inside portion of the fiyer is positioned a covor disk 39 and a spring finger 40 which are apertured so as to be received over the distal end of the gear shank 30. A nut 4| is threadedly received over the extreme end portion of the gear shank 30 for the purpose of locking the cover disk 30, the spring finger 40, and the flyer 35 in position over the gear shank. From the above, it is to be understood that any rotation of the crank 28' will impart a rotary motion to the bevel gear 22 and thus, the pinion gear 23 and the fiyer 35 will rotate in response to such movements. However, it is to be particularly observed that at the juncture of the body portion of the shank 39 and its threaded end portion there is formed a shoulder 39 which extends slightly outside the confines of the bearing member 24. Also, the hardened Washer 38 abuts against this shoulder 39' so that the nut 4| will not force the washer 38 against the member 24. The spring washer 3'8, however, is positioned upon the shoulder 30' so as to resist any relative axial movement between the bearing member 24 and the flyer assembly,

Still referring to Fig. 3, the left-hand end portion of the rod 33 extends beyond the confines of the housing [2, and upon this exposed end of the rod is rigidly mounted a disk 33' having an axial shank 42. Rotatably mounted upon the shank 42 and adjacent the disk 33 is a bearing hub 43 of a line-carrying spool generally designated by the numeral 44. This hub 43 may be. forced-fitted within the spool 45 and beyond the hub the shank 42 is slabbed, as at 45, and is adapted to have received thereon a friction disk element generally designated by the numeral 46. By referring particularly to Figs. 9 and 10, it is to be understood that this friction element is provided with a D-shaped aperture 41 having a shape complementary to that of the slabbed shank 42, to the end that this friction element may be slidingly received thereon and, at the same time, keyed thereto. It is to be particularly understood that this friction element is made up of two parts, section 48 which may be fabricated of any suitable material having a low coefficient of friction, such as metal or plastic, while a section 48' thereof may be fabricated of somev material having a high coefiicient of'friction, such as felt or cork. The elements 48 and 48' are adhesively secured together, and they are mounted over the shank 42 so that the. felt portion thereof will engage the hub of the spool 44. Thus, the friction disk 46 will be prevented from rotating relative to the shank 42, but, at the same time, it will be permitted to move endwise of the shank for the purpose of facilitating its removal. Threaded upon the extreme end portion of the shank 42 is a thumb nut 49 which functions to engage the friction disk and bias the same against the spool hub. From the above, it is to be understood that by adjusting the thumb nut 49, relalive to the shank 42, it will be possible to adjust the friction between the rotatable spool and the stationary elements 33 and 46. Furthermore, it is apparent that any rotation of the spool cannot be effective to loosen the thumb nut fromthe shank 42, for the reason that the friction disk 45 is keyed to the shank, thereby preventing the rotary motion of the spool from being transferred to the thumb nut. The rod 33 isnever permitted to rotate about its longitudinal axis, as will be understood from a more detailed description thereof. 7 7 Referring particularly to Fig. 3, the abovenoted spool 44 is formed from a pair of separate sheet metal elements 50 and 5|, of which the element 59 is provided with an annular ridge of material which is spun, over'the center portion of the member 5l, as at 52, for the purpose of securing the two elements rigidly together. Thereafter, the bearing hub 43 is force-fitted within the spool so as to provide an antifriction mounting between the spool and the shank 42. The peripheral portions of the spool are each flared outwardly, thereby to form a spool upon which a fishing line may be wound without the danger of injurying the line.

As may be seen from Fig. 1, the mounting member I!) is adapted to be secured to a fishing rod so as to be aligned substantially longitudinally thereof, and thus, the axis of the spool 44 is disposed at a slight angle to the rod axis. A first guide ring 53 of the rod is positioned relative to the reel, so that it will be in line with the spool axis, so that the fishing line will always pay oif evenly from the spool, and by the same token, be evenly rewound thereupon.

After the fishing line is cast from the spool by the angler, it thereafter becomes necessary to rewind the line upon the spool, preparatory to further casting operations. In order to wind the line back upon the spool, the. present inven-. tion contemplates the use of a line-engaging finger, or pick-01f member, generally designated by the numeral 54. More specifically, this pick-off member comprises an outer curved portion 55 and a line-engaging portion 56 which is disposed adjacent the periphery of the fiyerelement 35.

Referring particularly to Figs, 2, 3, 4, and 5, it is to be understood that the line-engaging portion 5% of the pick-off member normally is disposed adjacent the periphery of the fiyer 35, and has a portion 57 thereof which is bent at right angles to the portion 55, so as to extend around the back face portion of the flyer element, thereby to be journalled within a groove 58 formed within the inner portion of the fiyer element. A pair of apertures 59 and 65 are provided in the back face of the fiyer for receiving the portion 51 of the pick-off member. Referring particularly to Fig. 4, it is to be understood that the portion 51 lies within the groove 58, and that a free end portion 5! of the pick-off member extends through the aperture 59 and beyond the confines of the flyer element, Referring to Figs. 4; and 5, there is formed adjacent the end 6| of the pickoff member a loop portion 62 which is normally biased against the inner wall of the fiyer as best illustrated in Fig. 3. The hereinabove noted spring finger 46, which is secured upon the cover disk 39 by means of rivets 63, 63, constantly engages the loop 62 of the pick-off member, thereby to bias the latter into its operative position, which is best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. However, it is to be understood that the pick-off member may be pivoted within the groove 5.8, to the end that the loop portion 62 thereof is thrown away from the back wall of the fiyer element so, as to be disposed at right angles thereto. Referring particularly to Fig. 5, it is to be understood that the spring element 49 will hold the end of element 6 l against the periphery of the disk 27 so as to maintain the pick-off member in its inoperative position.

It is apparent that whenever the pick-off member is in its operative position, it will be so disposed that its curved or line-engaging loop portion 55 will engage the fishin line as soon as the fiyer 35 is rotated (see Figs, 2 and 3) Upon engaging the fishing line, the curved portion 55 will deflect the line into the crotch formed by the curved portion 55 and the line-engaging portion 55 and thereafter, further rotation of the fiyer with the pick-off member will function to wind the line about the spool. Furthermore, in the event that the pick-off member is in its inoperative position, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, when the angler wishes to retrieve the line, it is only necessary for him to turn the crank 2! in a lineretrieving direction, and this movement will be effective to rotate the flyer so that the outwardly extending free end, 6| of the pick-off member Will be urged outwardly by the periphery of the disk 2? which is shaped as an eccentric cam, as may be best understood by reference to Fig. 6. Such movement of the pick-off end member 5! will function to rotate the pick-off member about the axis of its portion 51 to the end that its other end 55 will be returned to its operative position under the influence of the spring finger at;

Experience has shown that a fishing line tends to wear through a pick-off member at that portion over which the line is payed out. Rather than provide the member with expensive antifriction means, the present member is designed so that it may be readily removed from the fiyer and bereplaced by a new unit. Thus, once the cover 39 and its spring finger ii are removed from the fiyer, the wire pick-off may be readily withdrawn through the apertures 59 and 5% which are made sufficiently oversize for this purpose.

The pick-01f member is provided with an abutment pin it which is riveted or otherwise secured upon the outer periphery of the flyer cup 35 so as to prevent the pick-off member from being deformed in the event that the pull upon the fishing line becomes excessive during the windingoperation, It is to be observed that this abutment pin engages the portion 55 of the pick-off member whenever the latter is in its operative position.

The present invention also contemplates the provision of means for shifting the spool axially of the rod 33, so that the line will be wound uniformly about the hub portion of the spool. For this purpose, there is mounted intermediate the ends of the rod 33 a block or erosshead member 52 which is secured to the red by means of a set screw 53. It should be clear that the presence of the block 62 will prevent the rotation of the rod 33 about its longitudinal axis, for the reason that the block slidably engages the face of the gear 22 at all times. Provided crosswise of the rod 33 and Within the rearface portion of the block 62 is a groove 52" which receives a pin 65 projecting eccentrically from the gear 22. From this, it is to be understood that rotation of the 7 gear 22 will cause the pin (it to rotate in synchronism therewith, to the end that the block 62, and consequently the rod 33, will reciprocate back and forth. This rectilinear motion of the rod 33 will be'effective to shift the entire spool assembly back and forth relative to the pick-off member 55 and the fiyer 33 and thus, as the latter two elements are rotated, it will be clear that the fishing line will be wound uniformly about the hub of the spool element.

In order to insure, that the fishing line will not find itsway between theperipheral portion of the spool element as and the inner portion of the flyer 39 during the rotation of the latter, the

present invention contemplates spacing apart the two spool elements as and 5! a distance which is one to fifteen per cent greater than the length By thus constructing of the stroke of the rod 33.

and by adjusting. the

the spoolin this fashion,

same in a proper fashion along the longitudinal axis of the rod 33, the line builds up evenly on the spool without crowding between the spool flanges, and there is no possibility of having the line being caught between the spool element 50 and the inner portions of the flyer 35. However, should the fishing line find its way to the space between the spool element 50 and the inner portion of the fiyer cup 35', the cover disk 39 will prevent the line from fouling the spring finger 40 or the portions 51 and 62 of the pick-off member. More specifically, the cover disk 39 is dish shaped and its peripheral portion 65 is adapted to be seated snugly with a recess portion 65 of the flyer. Thus, the cover disk 39 completely encloses the spring fingeri 49, as well as the pick-off elements 51 and 62. The cover disk 39 is provided with an extension shoulder 61 which is received within an aperture 68 formed within the flyer for the purpose of preventing the. cover disk from rotat ing about the gearshank.

From the above, it is to be understood that whenever the angler wishes to cast the line, he merely grasps the base of the curved portion 55 of the pick-off member and rotates it about its portion 51, thereby to shift the pick-off member to its inoperative position. However, in order to reposition the pick-off member in its operative position, it is merely necessary to turn the crank 29 in the usual line-retrieving direction, thereby causing the finger 6! of the pick-off member to move over the cam surface of the disk 21, to the end that the pick-01f member is snapped into its operative or line-engaging position.

As hereinabove noted, the spool 44 is rotatably mounted upon the shank 42 so that it is possible to rotate the spool, if such an operation is desired. Furthermore, by means of the friction disk 33' and thumb nut 49, it is possible to adjust the friction between disk 45 and the spool hub, to the end that a predetermineddrag may be applied to the spool. Thus, during the casting operation, a

sufficient drag is always applied upon the spool.

so that it will be impossible for the same to rotate. Therefore, the elements 33' and 49 comprise clutching elements which prevent normal rotation of the spool, except when a fish is hooked and running, and at such times, the clutch allows the spool to revolve so that the fish pulls against the tension of the reel. This tension may be readily increased or decreased by the turning of theknob 49.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the housing I2 is provided with three inner bosses H, H which are provided with threaded apertures 12, I2. A cover 13 is adapted to be disposed over and against these bosses H, H and three screws 14, 14 secure the cover 13 in sealing relation over the open housing face. The removal of this cover 13 is readily accomplished by taking out the screws 14, so that the chamber 13 is entirely exposed, as shown in Fig. 3. The open chamber permits ready inspection and cleaning of the gearing located within the housing 12, without any possibility of displacing any of the parts of the driving mechanism, as a result of the removal of the cover I3. From the above, it is to be understood that the present fishing reel is particularly designedso as to make for inexpensive manufacture, although, at the same time, the reel presents a most eflicient and serviceable unit.

I claim:

1. In a fishing reel having a housing, driving means disposed within said housing and having a rotatable element thereon-extending out of said housingra cup-shaped fiyer mounted upon the distal end of said rotatable element so as to be driven thereby, a reciprocable rod extendin from said housing through said rotatable element and being actuated bysaiddriving means, and a linecarrying spool mounted uponsaid rod and within said fiyer; line-engaging means carried by said fiyer, said line-engaging means comprising a wire pick off member having its inner end portion pivotally mounted upon the back wall of said fiyer, a. portion of said inner end of said pick-off member extending into said fiyer, spring means carried within said fiyerfor releasably maintaining. said pick-off in eitherof two extreme positions, and a cover disk mounted upon said rotatable elementiandadjacent the inside back wall portion of said fiyer so as to cover said spring and that portion of said pick-oi? which extends into said fiyer.

2. .In a fishing reel having a housing, driving means disposed within said housing and having a rotatableelement thereof extending out of said housing, a cup-shaped fiyer-mounted upon the distal end of said rotatable element so as to be driven thereby, a reciprocable rod extending from said housing through said rotatable element-and being actuated by said driving means, and a liner-carrying spool mounted upon said rod and within said fiyer; line-engaging means carri'edby said fiyer, said line-engaging means comprising a wire pick-off member having its inner end portion 'pivotally mounted upon the back wall of said fiyer, a portionof said inner end of said pick-off member extending into said fiyer, a cover disk mounted upon said rotatable elementand adjacent the inside back wall portion of said fiyer so as to cover that portion of said pick-'11 which extends into said flyer, and a spring means carried upon said cover disk and being disposed between said cover disk and the back wall portion of said fiyer, said spring means being in engagement with said pick-off member for releasably maintaining the latter in either of two extreme positions.

3. In a fishing reel having a line-carrying spool, a substantially cup-shaped rotatable flyer associated with said spool, and means for rotating said fiyer relative to said spool; line-engaging means carried by said fiyer, said line-engaging means comprising a wire pick-off member having its inner end portion .pivotally mounted upon the back wall of said fiyer and about a rotative axis disposed substantially crosswise of the fiyer axis, a portion of said inner end of said pick-off member extending into said fiyer, and spring means carried within. said fiyer for releasably maintaining said .pick-oii in either of two extreme positions of rotative movement, the intermediate portion of said pick-oii member extending substantially at right angles to its inner end portion and adjacent. the periphery of said flyer to terminate at its outer free end in a lineengaging loop.

4. In a fishing reel having a housing, driving means disposed within. said housing, a line-carrying spool associated with said housing, and a substantially cup-shaped rotatable fiyer surrounding said spool and connected with said driving means; line-engaging means carried by saidflyer, said line-engaging means comprising a wire pick-off member having its inner end portion pivotally mounted upon the back wall of said fiyer and about a rotative axis disposed substantially crosswise of the fiyer axis, a portion of said inner end of said pick-01f member extending into said fiyer, spring means-carried within said flyer for releasably maintaining said pickoii in either of two-extreme positions of rotative movement, the extreme inner end portion of said pick-oii member being bent substantially at right angles to its pivotal axis and extending away from said fiyer, and a cam element carried upon said housing so that engagement between said extreme inner end portion of said pick-ofi member and said cam incident to a rotation of said fiyer will cause said pick-off member to be rotated about its-pivotal axis and into its operative position.

5. In a fishing reel having a line-carrying spool, a substantially cup-shaped rotatable fiyer associated with saidspool, and means for rotating said fiyer relative to said spool; line-engaging means removably carried by said fiyer, said line-engaging means comprising a unitary wire pick-on member having its inner end portion pivotally mounted within a pair of spaced apertures provided within the back wall of said fiyer so that the rotative axis of the wire is disposed substantially crosswise of the fiyer axis, the .portion of said inner end of said pick-off member between the apertures extending into said fiyer, and spring means carried within said fiyer for releasably maintaining said pick-off in either of two extreme positions of rotative movement, the intermediate portion of said pick-01f member extending substantially at right angles to its inner end portion and adjacent the periphery of said fiyer to terminate at its outer free end in a lineengaging loop.

6. In a fishing reel having a housing, driving means disposed within said housing, a line-carrying spool associated with said housing, and a substantially cup-shaped rotatable fiyer surrounding said spool and connected with said driving means; line-engaging means carried by said fiyer, said line-engaging means comprising a wire pick-ofi member having its inner end portion pivotallymounted upon the back wall of said flyer and about a rotative axis disposed substantially'crosswise of the fiyeraxis, a portion of said inner end of said pick-off member extending into said fiyer, and spring means carried within said fiyer for releasably maintaining said pick-off in either of two extreme positions of rotative movement, the extreme inner end portion of said pick-on member being bentsubstantially at right angles to the pivotal axis thereof and extending generally away from said fiyer so that engagement between this end of the wire and said housing Incident to a rotation of said fiyer will cause said pick-ofi member to be rotated about its piv otal axis and into its operative position.

EDWIN E. VINCENT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,187,840 Illingworth June 20, 1916 2,229,470 Pezon Jan. 21, 1941 2,434,479 Allen e s. Jan. 13, 1948 2,498,987 Duncan Feb. 5, 1950 2,545,080 Graham Mar. I3, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 409,833 Great Britain May 10-, 1934 598,126 Great Britain Feb. 11, 1948 887,877 France Aug. 23, 1943 

